Is Lupin a real book?
It is!
Although, more accurately, it's a number of books.
French author, Maurice Leblanc,
created the fictional gentleman thief, Assane Lupin,
in 1905
and went on to write 17 novels over 34 years.
Stories from the first two collections;
Assane Lupin, Gentleman Burglar
and Assane Lupin vs. Herlock Sholmes,
are explicitly referenced in the show.
It's worth remembering, however,
that Lupin is not a direct adaptation.
Assane Diop takes inspiration from the legendary anti-hero,
but their stories are distinct.
Now, will there be a Lupin Part 3?
Lupin will return.
This was confirmed by lead Omar Sy on Twitter,
after intrepid fans managed to uncover a website
teasing the existence of Part 3.
Assane Diop would be proud.
It might time a little longer to arrive than Part 2, though.
The first ten chapters of Lupin was shot back to back,
so the next step in Assane Diop's story
is unlikely to arrive so quickly.
For now, let's take solace in the fact
co-creator George Kay is apparently hard at work
writing the show.
So, will Part 3 be set in Paris?
Possibly.
While Diop states at the end of Chapter 10
that he has to go far away,
he also reassures Claire and Raoul that while they won't see him,
he'll still be watching.
Given Assane's talent for covert surveillance,
it's possible he could do this from afar.
In an interview with Variety, George Kay also said
that while he's being encouraged to think expansively
and create a new adventure that will run forward from there,
the show will remain set in Paris.
Claire, Raoul,
and everyone's favourite character, Guedira,
are all well-established now,
so it's possible we could stay with them in Paris
while Diop applies his talents elsewhere.
But what will happen to Benjamin?
Truthfully, we don't know.
By the end of Part 2 he's basically lost everything.
As a known accomplice of the still-fugitive Diop,
the legitimate side of his business is in ruins.
But there's always hope in Lupin.
Even though Assane is on the run,
he has the uncanny ability to generate funds
and create opportunities to help his friends.
It's not inconceivable
that he'd find a way to help Benjamin start a new life.
Alternatively, he could ditch the antiques business,
chuck his glasses,
and fully embrace the spikey alternate persona
he adopted especially for Chapter 10.
Will Assane get with Juliette or stay with Claire?
Like some of the questions on the list,
the answer to this is deliberately unclear.
For most of Part 2,
Claire's relationship with Assane is understandably spikey.
He's responsible for their son being kidnapped,
and almost killed...
Raoul!
Happy birthday, Raoul.
And the more we learn of their relationship,
the clearer it is
that Claire's dreams and aspirations have suffered
because of her relationship with Assane.
But, by Chapter 10, things have improved.
Earlier in the show, she promised
that she'd never let Assane anywhere near Raoul again...
...but that no longer seems to be the case.
Claire also helps Assane escape Pellegrini's goons,
instead of handing him over.
But even then,
it's a stretch to say that their relationship
has been truly rekindled.
Meanwhile,
what about Assane's relationship with Juliette?
You could interpret the whole thing
as a piece of obsessive manipulation.
Diop uses Juliette to get back at Pellegrini,
manufacturing a casual romance to get what he needs.
But despite this,
there's obviously real affection between them.
Benjamin encourages Assane not to meet Juliette
after she's served her purpose, but he can't resist.
And with Pellegrini, hopefully out of the way,
the biggest barrier to their potential relationship
is gone.
That said, the otherwise kind and altruistic Juliette
might not take kindly to Assane high jacking her benefit concert
and imprisoning her father.
Why does that yellow car look so familiar?
Top marks if you spotted this.
Benjamin's car in Part 2 was a yellow 1957 Fiat 500,
the perfect ride
for a handsomely dishevelled antiques dealer.
And it'll likely to seem familiar
to anyone who's watched the Lupin 3 anime,
where it's normally seen jumping gorges
or weaving around bullets.
It's first seen being driven by Lupin
in Hayao Miyazaki's The Castle of Cagliostro,
and since then, it's become part of the character's heritage,
with a modern update
appearing in the big-budget live action version in 2014.
Italian automotive accessories company, Black Torino,
even created a Fiat 500 Lupin addition,
complete with crosshairs on the headrest,
character silhouettes on the seats, and fake bullet holes.
Let's hope Ben's ride fairs a bit better.
Why is Assane still on the run at the end of Part 2?
Diop cleared his name
of some of the most high-profile crimes
for which he was being hunted,
but he's still not innocent.
The gentleman-epithet-before-thief doesn't make it any more legal.
He's guilty of kidnapping
and a multi-million euro necklace theft, among other things.
So, while Guedira, Belkacem, and Laugier let him go
in the concert hall finale,
it's by no means an indication his name has been cleared.
Diop's face might not be on the front page
of every newspaper come Part 3,
but we can expect his relationship with law enforcement
to remain fraught.
Where did all the donation money go?
This is an easy one.
It went where it was supposed to:
the charitable foundation for underprivileged children.
Assane, Ben, and Courbet came up with a scheme
that would make it look like
a large percentage of the cash was going to Pellegrini,
but Courbet was always in control.
And in Chapter 10,
we see all the money going exactly where it was intended.
Has Pellegrini finally been caught?
When it comes to Hubert Pellegrini, there are no guarantees.
The man's slippier than an oiled banana slug.
Even with Commissioner Dumont under arrest
for corruption and influence pedalling,
Pellegrini still has friends in high places
and his confession, made under duress at knifepoint,
may not hold up in court.
Even the contract he signed, manifesting his intention
to siphon charitable funds to an offshore bank account,
could be a form of entrapment.
Until we see him convicted and behind bars,
there's every chance Assane's millionaire archnemesis
will wriggle free.
And that leads us
to perhaps the biggest question in the series.
What happened to J'Accuse?
When we last see J'Accuse,
he's helping Assane cook dinner while listening to The Four Tops.
Shortly before Léonard is strangled and left in Diop's house,
we see him outside with Assane as he flees the police
and then he disappears.
We can only assume
that he's safely tucked away in some doggy penthouse,
ready to give evidence at Pelligrini's...
...trial.
And we'll finish on a bonus fact.
J'Accuse is also the name of an open letter written in 1898
by influential writer Émile Zola,
in which he accused the French government
of corruption and anti-Semitism.
The letter was printed on the front page
of the L'Aurore newspaper,
hence the link to J'Accuse's original owner,
investigative journalist Fabienne Beriot,
from Part 1 of Lupin.
And there you go.
Do you have any lingering questions about Lupin
and what do you think will happen to Pellegrini?
Let us know in the comments
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